I raise a serious issue regarding access to dental care for medical card holders. Corporate dental providers are withdrawing from the medical card scheme because, under current legislation, they cannot legally hold contracts directly with the HSE. The legislation governing this area has not been substantially updated since 1987 despite the fact that the structure of the dental profession has changed significantly in recent years. As a result, more than 200,000 medical card procedures that were previously carried out annually in these practices will now have to be provided elsewhere. These patients are finding it difficult to find replacements, as many traditional dentist practices are already operating at full capacity and cannot take on additional medical card patients. Will the Minister raise this with the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and the Minister for Health as a matter for urgency and examine the need for legislative reform to protect access to dental care for medical card holders?

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